Death Man (New Earth)

Lord Death Man
Mainstream Universe‎‎, 1950s-2011‎
Gallery
Real Name	Unknown
Main Alias	Lord Death Man
Other Aliases	Death Man
Affiliation	Leviathan
Base Of Operations	Tokyo, Japan
Status
Alignment	Bad
Identity	Secret Identity
Citizenship	Japanese
Occupation	Crimelord
Characteristics
Gender	Male
Origin
Universe	Earth-One · New Earth
Creators	Robert Kanigher · Sheldon Moldoff
First Appearance	Batman #180 (May, 1966)

KILL ALL JAPANESE CRIMEFIGHTERS!

— Lord Death Man

Death Man had the uncanny ability to put himself in a yoga trance that made him appear dead, until reappearing as a Japanese Crimelord that truely could not die.

History

Death Man first started his criminal career in Gotham City, where he was confronted by Batman and Robin. Despite being easily captured by the heroes, Death Man was confident about being able to escape the law. During his trial, Death Man died and he was soon buried in an unmarked grave. However, he soon started a second crime spree and Batman was able to capture him a second time, but Death Man died once again. Eventually, Batman deduced that Death Man was using the yogi technique to fake his death and the hero confronted Death Man for a third time. This time, Death Man and his Men of Death got the upper hand in the fight and would've defeated the Dark Knight, but he was struck by lightning, which apparently killed him.

Death Man would return briefly, and tried to use the same gimmick to escape punishment, but Batman had learned his secret and would not let him escape again. Having realized that his gimmick was ruined, Death Man somehow attained full regenerative powers, at the cost of the flesh on his skull while the rest of his body regenerated quickly from fatal wounds.

He was then known as Lord Death Man, a Japanese crimelord who set himself to destroying all crimefighters, starting with Mister Unknown, who he dissolved with Aqua Regia. Lord Death Man had again retained his Men of Death gang, who shared his skeletal costume but not his regenerative powers.

As a demonstration, Lord Death Man was fatally shot by Mr. Unknown's body-double, Jiro and fell several stories to his next "death"; only to recuperate during his autopsy and massacre the medical examiners. Batman knew that somehow, the original Death Man had been upgraded, and Lord Death Man "found a secret to resist death itself".

In order to defeat Lord Death Man, Batman — with some malice — threw him off a building into the path of an armored car, crushing him long enough for Catwoman to lock him into a safe. It was poetic justice, as Death Man had run over Batman in an armored hearse when they first met. Using Bruce Wayne's connections, Lord Death Man was launched into orbit by the Japanese Space Program.

Unfortunately, Lord Death Man was somehow released in the Leviathan Orbital Headquarters, where he set about continuing his goal of destroying crimefighters — this time in the service of Leviathan. His focus was now on destroying the larger Batman Incorporated agents that were being recruited around the world, leading them into complex traps before killing them. In what seemed his final act, Lord Death Man detonated the Orbital Headquarters when the Outsiders breached the door of his command center.

Powers and Abilities

Powers

• Regeneration: Later in his career, he developed genuine regeneration rather than relying on trickery.

Abilities

• Meditation: Death-Man has mastered the yoga art of controlling his body to mask his vital signs, creating the illusion of death.
  

Paraphernalia

Equipment

• Grafted Costume: Death Man's original costume was permanently attached to his skin.

Transportation

• Leviathan Orbital Headquarters

Weapons

• Firearms

Notes

Batman #180

• Although this character was originally introduced during DC's Earth-One era of publication, their existence following the events of the 1985–86 limited series Crisis on Infinite Earths remains intact. However, some elements of the character's Pre-Crisis history may have been altered or removed for Post-Crisis New Earth continuity, and should be considered apocryphal.
• Batman's recollection of the first conflict between himself and Death Man matches closely with the events in Earth-One's Batman #180.
  

Recommended Reading

• Batman Incorporated (Volume 1)
• Bat-Manga

Related

• 7 Appearances of Death Man (New Earth)
• 19 Images featuring Death Man (New Earth)
• 4 Quotations by or about Death Man (New Earth)
• Character Gallery: Death Man (New Earth)

Footnotes

Batman Villain(s) This character, team or organization, has been primarily an enemy of the Batman, or the Batman Family as a whole. This template will categorize articles that include it into the category "Batman Villains."